The Sonny Series
by slyn11
Summary: These are a collection of chapters featuring Sonny Kiriakis lifted from my Undertow series. It is an ongoing collection since my larger story is still in progress. I will add Sonny chapters here as they happen. If you want to understand this story in its context, please read the full version of Undertow found here or on my website listed on my profile page.
1. Chapter 1

Melanie came in through the kitchen door, shrugging off her coat as she closed the door behind her. She noticed Sonny Kiriakis digging through the refrigerator, his favorite pastime whenever he was at her house.

"You're back early," said Sonny closing the refrigerator door when he noticed Melanie enter the room. "It's not even noon yet," he said placing the bottle of water he just retrieved from the fridge on the counter.

"Court got out early because Chloe lost it," said Melanie as she flipped through the pile of mail on the desk in the kitchen.

More applications for preschool had arrived. Kate had been at it again. Getting Parker into the best preschool was Kate's current obsession. Didn't matter that Parker was only 4 months old and hadn't even mastered the fine art of sitting up, to Kate he was already a genius.

"Seriously?" Sonny ran his hands through his dark brown curls in disbelief.

"Yep. She had a full meltdown, jumped out of her chair, charged the stand," explained Melanie walking over to Sonny at the counter. "I think she would have wrapped her hands around my neck if she had gotten the chance."

"I can't believe it. I knew I should have gone to court. Something good finally happens in this town and I miss it."

"I wouldn't call this good. She's probably gonna end up committed after this stunt."

Melanie still hadn't gotten over what had happened in court today, Chloe's screams for Philip still on instant replay in her mind.

"So what does that mean for Parker?" asked Sonny taking a sip of water.

"I don't know. Where is he now anyway?" asked Melanie looking around. "Upstairs with Abigail?"

"Abby had to leave. Her mom called about something. So it was just us boys chilaxing, watching some TV. I just put him down for a nap."

"What were you watching? Home Shopping Network? I have found he likes that almost as much as infomercials."

She didn't have that much experience with kids, actually she had no experience with kids, but she had read a lot, and not one baby book mentioned that a baby could enjoy watching infomercials. In fact, Melanie was sure most baby experts would discourage the activity all together, in fear of developing a young mind into a compulsive shopper. But they made Parker smile and more importantly they made him sleep, so Melanie was willing to take the chance.

"Nope I got him a little gift," Sonny said happily holding up the dvd cover to show Melanie.

"Yes, My Baby Can Read," read Melanie slowly. "Sonny you didn't actually buy this?"

"Sure did. Came yesterday, and I couldn't wait to show it to the little guy. My cousin is going to be the brightest kid in pre-school."

"This doesn't actually work though. It has to be a scam."

"Don't be so quick to scoff. There are plenty of testimonials on the web."

"Right because everything we read on the internet is true."

"Have a little faith girl. Parker is going to be reading chapter books by the time he is a year old, trust me."

"Okay", she laughed. "So how did he do?"

"He giggled and cooed through the opening intro and then two minutes in he was out like a light. But I'm not discouraged. It is a process. Every time I babysit we will do a little more."

"I think you should leave the dvd here, so I can work with him too."

"Really?" asked Sonny with excitement.

"Yeah anything that can put him to sleep in two minutes is a keeper."

"Ha ha very funny. So do you need me to stay longer? Don't you have class today?"

"Yep at 2, and we have an exam, but I'd like to spend a little time with Parker first."

"Are you sure? I can stay. You might want to catch a nap before your class and aren't you working tonight?"

"7 to 7. I'll be fine," she said pulling her hair up off her neck and twisting it into a knot. "I'm used to running on fumes. Besides Parker may sleep for a bit and I can catch a few minutes myself."

"Ok Mel, I'll see ya later. Text me if you need me, or if Chloe has another breakdown. I will rush right over, I don't want to miss it again," grinned Sonny as he put on his coat.

"You're awful mocking her pain," chuckled Melanie.

Sonny never pretended that Chloe was his favorite person. That was one of the things she liked about him, and probably what bonded them as friends. Sonny told her he couldn't understand how she had managed to wreck so many lives in such a short time. Sonny had repeatedly said that while he hoped Chloe recovered, he didn't like the idea of her now being a permanent part of his family because of Parker. He had heard too many horror stories about her. Melanie felt like Sonny may be the only person she could be totally honest with because of that. She guessed she owed Brady for bringing Sonny around.

Brady had suggested that Sonny spend time with Melanie after the accident. She guessed she had spent too much time in bed staring at the walls, for Brady's liking, so he scheduled a play date for her and Sonny. Sonny arrived the next day with a pint of rocky road Haagen Daz ice cream in one hand and Dawson's Creek the complete series in the other. He said everything could be fixed by watching 90s TV and eating ice cream. Needless to say Melanie fell in love instantly and completely. Five hours later, Brady came by to check on how his matchmaking panned out, only to find both Sonny and Melanie curled up in the bed watching Pacey Witter make out with his teacher, Miss Jacobs. Poor Brady was not pleased.

By the time they got through season 3 of the dvds, Melanie and Sonny had both made it out of the bed. They started spending time outside of the house, the pub, Java, Sonny had somehow become one of her best friends. Now they talked almost every day and often ran into each other on campus. As the months passed they made it through Dawson's Creek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Popular and were currently working through Felicity. Her long schedule at the hospital left her exhausted with very little free time, but Sonny always managed to make her squeeze in time for fun. Even if that fun was only a dvd and some snacks. Now that she had Parker full time, their time was more limited, but lucky for her, Sonny had another hidden talent. He was great with kids. Apparently, Sonny Kiriakis was the most sought after babysitter when he lived in Colorado.

"Stuck in a boring small town, I've got to take action where I can find it. I'm a desperate man," he joked.

"Maybe if you went out and got yourself a date, you would have less time to immerse yourself in local gossip."

"You do have a point. I seriously need a man in my life. But give up gossip – never." He threw her a quick kiss over his shoulder as he left.

Melanie looked around the now empty kitchen, suddenly exhausted. Maybe she would try to get some rest before her exam. She headed out of the kitchen to check on Parker before taking a nap.

_**These are a collection of chapters featuring Sonny Kiriakis lifted from my Undertow series. It is an ongoing collection since my larger story is still ongoing**__**. **__**If you want to understand this story in its context, please read the full version of Undertow found here or on my website listed on my profile page.**_


	2. Chapter 2

Melanie paced back and forth in front of the door of the law office of Kiriakis Scott, checking her phone every few seconds for a message. The fact that her phone lit up and beeped with each new message, and the fact that her phone was currently dark and in screensaver mode, didn't stop Melanie from still hitting the screen to make sure there weren't any messages. It had been over an hour since she had texted him. Salem was fifty square miles, there was no reason he should be taking this long.

She was just about to send him yet another "where the hell are you?" text when she spotted him. Sonny Kiriakis, with his cropped chocolate curls and bright smile, jogging around the corner toward her. His royal blue parka, dark jeans, and blue and orange Nikes made him pretty hard to miss, even in the low light of early evening.

"You're late," she frowned.

"I had class," he shrugged, grinning sheepishly at her.

Melanie rolled her eyes in annoyance. "A class you never go to."

Sonny was a graduating senior, finance major, with eleven credits left. Two gym classes he had put off, one accounting course he had failed and had to retake, and Geology 101, the class he needed to fulfill his science requirement. A class he rarely attended. He was skating by with a solid C, and that was with very little class attendance. So Sonny had surmised that it would actually be tempting fate and the status of his GPA if he started going to the lectures. He figured he would probably end up failing if he actually studied the class notes. It made absolutely no sense to Melanie, but that was Sonny logic in a nutshell.

"What?" he scoffed. "Of course I go to that class. I attend all of my classes. My education is valuable to me."

Melanie crossed her arms over her chest. "Sonny, your dad is not in his office. You can cut the crap."

"It's not crap. My parents are paying good money to send me to school and I appreciate their generosity. You can record me saying that and play it back in court," Sonny declared trying to sound earnest. He pointed to toward the camera mounted near the door on the side of the building. "It's nothing but the truth."

"Who checks those cameras?" asked Melanie lowering her voice.

"They are archived and only checked if a problem arises," said Sonny moving closer.

"Good. So hopefully no one will ever notice we were here."

"Why are we here exactly? All your text said was meet you at my dad's office in stealth gear."

"You call that stealth?" asked Melanie pointing out his bright blue coat and orange sneakers.

"This is Salem, not New York City. You in your head to toe all black draws more suspicion than me in orange and blue." He snatched the sunglasses from her face. "And you're wearing sunglasses, at night, no one does that here."

He had a point. Melanie was so focused on implementing her plan that she hadn't considered what worked in Europe may not fly in Salem. Her black trench coat, black pants, and shades may have been a tad too much for their sleepy little town.

"Are you ready?" she asked hoisting her bag higher on her shoulder. "We are going to break into the office and get the original copy of Philip's living will."

"You could have just asked my dad, he would've let you look at it. No need to go all Mission Impossible."

"I am going to destroy it," she stated matter of factly.

Sonny arched his eyebrows in concern. "I'm pretty sure that's illegal."

"As long as that document exists, we are going to have to let Philip die. I can't let that happen."

"Melanie, I know how upsetting this is for you. I am upset myself, but I don't think this is going to work. There are copies of documents like that, a paper trail, destroying a piece of paper won't change things."

"EJ said that if Justin can't produce the original document in court we have more grounds to fight it and ultimately have it thrown out as invalid."

"EJ Dimera?" Sonny leaned back against the building, a shocked expression on his face.

"I called him to see if he could help."

Melanie wondered why everyone seemed to think that EJ was the devil incarnate. He was from a powerful family and sometimes made some shady choices, but he wasn't that much different than Philip. Maybe he was a tad more intense, but still nothing worth the reactions his name seemed to evoke. Besides she just needed his legal help, it wasn't like she wanted to sleep with the guy.

"You hired him as your attorney?"

"He already was my attorney. He drew up the papers for my divorce last year."

"Melanie, I don't like the sound of this."

"Justin won't help me. Victor is standing by Philip's wishes, whatever that means. I had to get someone on the outside of the family."

"Fine," Sonny sighed. "What do you need me to do?"

"I figure you know your father's office pretty well. You can point me in the right direction to where that paper might be."

"I've got an idea."

"Good." She pulled a flashlight out of her bag and handed it to him. "Now hold this flashlight over my shoulder I am going to try to open the door." Rummaging in her bag again, she pulled out a small leather case. She put her bag on the ground and opened up the case.

"A lock picking kit? Where did you get one of those?"

"Philip had it in the closet," said Melanie as she took out the tools to begin to work on the door.

"I don't even want to know what my cousin was up to with that. But you know it is the new millennium. We live in a digital age. Keyed locks are so passé."

"What are you talking about?"

Sonny held up his pass key. "Key card baby."

"Oh my god, Sonny that is awesome. You are the best."

"I assumed that is why you called me. Let's hurry and get inside before people start wondering why we are loitering outside the door."

It was a typical office, a waiting area with plush burgundy leather couches, beige walls, a tree that looked plastic, wood panel details. A reception desk stood in the center of the room blocking access to a corridor of closed doors.

"The lights are still on," noted Melanie.

"Yeah the cleaning crew turns everything off when they are done." Sonny grabbed her hand and led her past the reception desk and down the hall.

"What time do they usually come through?"

"I'm not sure maybe eight o'clock. My dad usually works until then. I wonder why he is gone so early tonight."

"Kate took him out to dinner."

"She's in on this too?"

"She is like the only one on my side."

After that meeting at the mansion, everyone was stunned about the will, sadly rumbling about Philip's right to die with dignity and his wishes. Kate had pulled her to the side and asked her what they were going to do about the will. In hushed whispers in the corner of the Kiriakis living room, she and Kate had set things in motion.

"Not true. You've got me."

Melanie hugged him briefly around the waist. "So where should we start?"

"File room, down this next hall."

"So where's your dad's legal partner, Scott?"

"Went to find himself, scaling Everest or something. So he says."

"You don't think he can do it?"

"Adam Scott is more likely holed up in a high roller suite in Vegas, sinning with some showgirl. He's not the type to find mountainous peaks a means to spiritual awakening unless those peaks are attached to an attractive woman."

"Charming. So your dad's working alone?"

"He brought on another attorney, part time I think. But pretty much he's flying solo.

They turned the corner and entered another hallway filled with closed wooden doors. They walked three doors down and stopped. "Here it is."

Melanie turned the door handle. "It's locked. Will your magic card open this door too?"

"Afraid not. Time to bust out that lock picking kit. Do you know how to use it?"

"You're dealing with a pro here." Melanie pulled out the kit, sank down to her knees and began working on the door. A few minutes later the lock clicked and the door opened.

"Impressive."

"One of the many life skills I learned from my adoptive father. He was a real role model," said Melanie as she stood up, dropping the lock picking tool into her bag by her feet.

"Well if you ever have to live by your wits on the streets, you'd survive."

"Which could be soon if we don't destroy this document."

"My dad told me Philip left you everything. You won't be moving into any cardboard boxes soon."

"I don't want his money," she said softly.

"I would take that statement more seriously if you weren't wearing $500 Jimmy Choo flats to break and enter."

"You know it isn't about the money for me Sonny, my love of shopping aside. I just want him back."

A few years ago if someone had told her she would be married to one of the richest men in America, she would have told them to stay off the drugs. She had been raised to find that perfect mark, the richer the better, and take all she could. Trent would be so proud if he knew she had landed a Kiriakis. The funny thing was that the money didn't mean anything to her. Nick had left her a million dollar future when he gave her rights to the alternative fuels project. She could have been set for life and then some. It was all in the palm of her hand, finally. And she was miserable.

All she had wanted was for Philip to like her and want her, he could have had all the money the fuels project promised, she would have given it all up, just to be with him. It was such a pathetic thought when she looked back on it, to be willing to give up her financial future for the love of a man that barely gave her the time of day. But Melanie had always felt there was something more with Philip, somehow she knew he was her future, and not some business deal. What could she say? She was raised by a gambler, a product of her environment. Melanie had been willing to bet it all on Philip. She still was.

"I know," he laughed lightly. "I was just teasing. No gold digger would go through all of this."

Rows of black cabinets filled the room, all about 4 feet tall, like a forest of towering metal.

"There are so many cabinets," said Melanie looking around the room.

"They are in alphabetical order though, so let's just go straight to K. I am going to watch the door." Sonny wedged one foot in the door to keep it slightly open.

Melanie located the 'K' section of cabinets and searched for Kiriakis.  
"Okay…Kane, Kempler, Kiriakis. Here it is. Damn this is a big file."

"It might be for more than just Philip. My dad handles a number of things for the family."

"You're right. It is mixed," she said opening the drawer wide and flipping through the papers. "Ok I think I found Philip's section."

"Find anything yet?" asked Sonny from his post at the door.

"I'm not sure what I am looking for. There's a lot of stuff in here." Bank statements, legal documents, certificates, it all looked like gibberish to Melanie.

"Let's switch you watch the door, I will look in the files. I have been helping my dad out at work since I was 10. I pretty much understand all the legal stuff."

She walked over to Sonny and took his place at the door, careful not to let the door close all the way. She watched intently as Sonny began going through the files.

"Holy ****!" exclaimed Sonny.

"What?" Melanie stretched as far as she could, attempting to see what had Sonny's attention.

"Philip dropped 10 grand at Tiffany's. Your jewelry stash must be out of control."

"Probably was my wedding ring," Melanie said nonchalantly. She thought he had found something about the will.

"Your ring is clearly custom and cost more than ten thousand dollars."

"What's the date on the receipt?" she asked her curiosity piqued a bit. What had Philip bought her that cost that much?

"March 2010," read Sonny.

"I don't remember getting any new jewelry then. Does it say what he bought?"

"Nope . Just some sort of code and the price. Clever way to stop your wife from snooping out her gifts early."

"Or a clever way to hide purchases made for your mistress behind your wife's back."

"Good point."

A sickening thought slinked into her mind. "Maybe he bought something for Chloe."

"For that much money? Doubtful. It was a one night bang not a full out affair."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"What are you talking about?" asked Sonny as he continued to search the files.

"Chloe told me that she and Philip stayed together, like long term, at the Towers hotel after I kicked him out."

"And you believed her?"

"Philip did have a suite there." That he never mentioned until the night of the accident.

"Chloe is legit crazy. You can't believe a word out of her mouth."

"What if she's telling the truth though? She and Philip could've been having a secret love affair the whole time." The doubts she had managed to quell when she visited Philip earlier were racing back full strength.

"I don't buy it. Philip wouldn't do that."

"You weren't even in Salem at the time Sonny. How do you know?"

"Philip is the poster child for monogamy. Everyone knows that."

"All the headlines call him "billionaire playboy". That title just screams faithful," said Melanie sarcastically.

"The family knows the real deal. Uncle Victor constantly mocked him about it. Had all sorts of clever names for Philip's penchant for falling in love."

"See he falls in and out of love." Melanie slumped against the door. "He fell out of love with me and back in love with Chloe."

"Do you actually believe what you're saying right now?"

"I've been thinking about this all weekend, making myself sick trying to figure it out."

"Let's find some evidence."

"We're supposed to be looking for the will."

"We still are. But I really need to prove to you that my cousin is not some cheating scuzz bucket."

"He cheated on me remember?"

"That didn't count," said Sonny dismissively.

"I think I beg to differ. He made a baby, destroyed my father's life. I think that counts for a lot."

"I just mean that there were extenuating circumstances. He didn't just get bored of you and move on to a new woman. It was sex as pain management."

"Why couldn't he have turned to drugs like Brady?"

"We all have our vices," said Sonny coming from behind the cabinet to face her. "I tend to blow up my credit card when I'm depressed."

"I've noticed. Legendary shopping spree after you and Randy called it quits." Melanie would never forget it. September in Chicago, they probably bought something from every store on the Miracle Mile.

"Indeed. And you…"he hesitated.

"And me what?"

"Nothing. Let's drop it. Gotta find that will." He turned his attention back to the file cabinet, quietly resuming his search. An awkward silence filled the room.

"No, finish your thought."

"I was just going to say that you hurt yourself when you're depressed."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Mel, when's the last time you've eaten?" he asked gently.

"Why are you changing the subject?" Melanie was irritated. He was so focused on her diet and they were greater issues at hand.

"I'm not."

"Sonny can we not go there please?"

"Do you know how many times I have wanted to grab you by the hair and force feed you a donut?"

They had danced around the subject before. Sonny would question her eating habits, and then hound her until he watched her eat a full meal. It almost made her not want to spend as much time with him. It was annoying to force down food she didn't want just to shut him up. She ate, of course she did, but her appetite was less right now and sometimes she got sick, but it wasn't like she deliberately wasn't eating. She was managing everything in her life just fine, Philip's illness, Parker, school. What would make anyone think she couldn't manage her own body? It was ridiculous.

"I eat. I just haven't been feeling well."

"For months."

"Just stressed about Philip. Once he's fine. I'll be fine."

"I'm not sure your body can hold out much longer."

"Sonny…" she pleaded, praying he would just drop it.

"Fine. PSA over. But after this we're stopping at the Cheating Heart and getting dinner."

"Okay."

"Aha! I found it!" yelled Sonny, holding up a paper over his head.

"Oh my god. You found the will!" Melanie raced over to Sonny, excitement coursing through her body.

"Nope. I found his Towers Hotel bill. Okay extended stay, blah, blah, suite, deluxe room."

"He rented two rooms," said Melanie reading over his shoulder. "So Chloe was telling the truth."

"Separate rooms though."

"Right next door. I'm sure they alternated beds to spice things up." She felt her stomach start to churn, imagining them together.

"Mel, you don't know that. I wouldn't trust anything Chloe says if I were you."

She took the paper from his hand. "It's all there in black and white."

"This proves nothing," he said snatching the paper back and returning it to the file cabinet.

"Before you said finding it would be proof."

"Now that I've found it, I see it's nothing. He paid for a room for Chloe. Big whoop. Philip could be free with a buck when he wanted to be."

"But it was for Chloe." She slid to the floor, her back against the cabinet. "She destroyed our marriage and he still couldn't stay away from her."

"They've been friends a long time, Mel."

"I know. That's what hurts the most. Why couldn't he have done some random stranger or his secretary? He chooses to sleep with his first love and oldest friend. I can't even begin to compete with that," she said hugging her knees to her chest.

"You don't need to compete. You won. He's your husband. You're the one he loves."

"Doesn't mean he can't have feelings for her too."

"He probably does." Sonny sat down next to her, placing a box on the floor between them. "But that doesn't compare to what he feels for you."

"I don't know Sonny," she said turning to face him."They were together in that hotel for weeks."

"Look at this. This is what I know." Sonny pulled out picture after picture of Melanie from the box. "These must all be from his office. You were everything to him."

"I'm sure if you pop any of those pictures out of their frame, you'll find a picture of Stephanie behind it."

"Snap out of it!" he said grabbing her shoulders and shaking her slightly. "Your husband loves you. Case closed."

"Case feels very open to me. I wish he would wake the hell up and explain himself, tell me how he really feels."

"I do too. We could put that crazy Chloe in her place once and for all."

"It's like now I doubt everything. All those things he said the night of the accident about loving me, and giving up Chloe for me, and me not being second choice, it all feels like lies now."

"He married you with no prenup and made you his primary beneficiary in his will. To a Kiriakis that's love times a million. He left you his legacy. That could only mean one thing."

"What's that?"

"He intended to spend the rest of his life with you. So the next time Chloe or anyone else tries to make you believe Philip didn't love you. You think about that."

"Thanks Sonny." She leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Anytime. Oh and I found the advance directive." He handed her the paper.

"And you're just telling me this now?" Melanie stood up, outraged.

"Hello!" Sonny jumped up. "We were in the middle of a crisis of the heart. Boy drama trumps all this legal nonsense, you know that."

"Philip's life depended on this legal nonsense."

"Philip was going to be fine. You and Kate would've found a way to save him, conned a judge, whisked him off to Greece, blah, blah. But what if you had decided to up and dump his ass? Where would Philip be when he woke up and found you gone?"

"I'm sure he'd have Chloe by his bedside, throwing her boobs all over him."

"Oh so you are willing to just let her have him? Let the other woman win?"

"If Philip wanted her, what could I do? I wouldn't stand in the way of his happiness."

"As if he could ever be happy with that cheap, washed up – "

"Sonny," she warned. "That's Parker's mother."

"That's all she got going for her. She's Parker's mother. I hope you get it through your head really soon that if Philip wanted Chloe, he would have been with her. He chose you."

"I know you're right. I let Chloe throw me. I need to just forget about it once and for all. I'm the one he loves. That's one of the last things he ever said to me."

"See. So forget about that crazy slut. Let's go save your man."

"It is times like this when I really see that you are a Kiriakis," Melanie giggled. "You reminded me of Victor a little bit right then."

"That's so sweet. That might be the best compliment I've ever received." He hugged her tightly, a smile beaming on his face. "Let's get out of here before the cleaning staff comes in." They put the box back into the cabinet and made their way to the door.

"It's locked."

"Take out that kit and get to picking," said Sonny.

"I can't."

"Of course you can. You got us in, now get us out."

"My bag's outside the door. I got so excited when we came in that I must've forgotten to pick it up."

Sonny groaned. "Just great. Now we're stuck."

Melanie's phone buzzed in her pocket. "Oh got my phone. It's a text from Brady. Chloe got put in jail."

"Really? Like in the slammer? The joint? The big house?" asked Sonny excitedly.

"Yep. Police took her out of the hospital apparently. Looks like she is locked up."

"Yeah, but so are we." They both slid down the door to the floor, looking dejectedly around the windowless room they were now stuck in.

**_These are a collection of chapters featuring Sonny Kiriakis lifted from my Undertow series. It is an ongoing collection since my larger story is still ongoing_****_._****If you want to understand this story in its context, please read the full version of Undertow found here or on my website listed on my profile page.**


	3. Chapter 3

"So we could just text Brady back, tell him to come and get us," said Sonny breaking the silence that had settled in the empty file room, where they sat on the floor, shoulder to shoulder, backs against the locked wooden door.

"Do we really want to explain this to him right now?" asked Melanie.

"Yeah, not really up for a lecture. Let's move him to the back of the list. We could just call Kate, let her know the plan has gone awry."

Melanie wanted to stay off of Kate's hit list for as long as possible. The fact that she had managed to remain in relatively good favor with the woman for this long was a miracle.

"I was hoping to impress her. Let her know I was capable of pulling this off without botching the job."

"Impressing the mother-in-law, I can understand that. We may need to call her though if worse comes to worse."

"Fine," she agreed. "We will keep her as an option."

"Chad!" Sonny blurted out excitedly.

"What about Chad?"

"I could call him, tell him to come scoop us."

"He has a key to the office?"

"No, but maybe he can bring a few of his frat brothers, burst through the door."

She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Next please."

"Hairpin and a stick of gum?" offered Sonny.

She shook her head at his silliness. "Don't think so."

"It always works on TV," mumbled Sonny.

"We could just do 911." Maybe they could come up with a plausible reason for being inside.

Sonny held his phone up to his ear and pretended to make a call. "Hello Salem PD? Yeah put Bo Brady on the line, tell him his cousin accidentally got himself locked inside an office he broke into." He dropped his phone and looked at her. "You do realize that what we are doing here is a crime?"

"I guess I'll have to call Kate," she sighed scrolling through her phone to locate the number.

"No wait," said Sonny taking the phone from her hand. "Let's just take a moment and regroup. Maybe something will come to us."

"Okay sounds good." They sat quietly for a beat. "Anything come to you yet?" asked Melanie.

"Nope. Let's watch Felicity," suggested Sonny. "We have almost all of season four left. I'll just pull up Netflix." He searched for the site on his phone.

"I do want to see what happens when Ben finds out about Felicity and Noel."

"Ben's going to kick Noel's ass. Guaranteed."

"Hello! Spoiler alert!" she exclaimed.

"You don't need a spoiler to see that coming. His girlfriend cheated with her ex. Punches will be thrown."

"God that show hits so close to home." Melanie spread out on the floor on her stomach, placing Sonny's parka under head as a makeshift pillow.

"Wait until we see the rest of season four, you're going to think the writers were spying on your life." Sonny joined her in the reclined position, sharing the parka with her, his phone in front of both their faces like a mini television.

"Sounds like it will be depressing. Let's watch something happy."

"Should we head to the Creek?" he asked.

"Perfect."

"Which ep?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

"True Love" they both said in unison.

"Can we skip to the Jack and Ethan kiss first?" asked Sonny. "It's hard to sit though the whole episode knowing that is coming."

"Do it. The end is the best part. Don't you wish your life could be just like that episode?" she asked with a wistful sigh.

Sonny gave her a perplexed look. "Curled up in a ball on the kitchen floor, crying to my dad about how the first guy I ever kissed went back to his ex?"

"No," she giggled. "I meant sailing off into the sunset with your true love."

"Oh Pacey and Joey. Should've known." He rolled his eyes and resumed fast forwarding through the episode.

Melanie rolled over on her back, staring up at the white ceiling tiles. "It was just so romantic how she finally just dropped everything and ran to him and declared her love."

He sat up and leaned back against the door. "In my experience sailing off is overrated. When you get back to shore inevitably disaster strikes, hearts broken. It never ends pretty. Safer bet to just love on dry land."

"Problems seem easier to face while at sea."

"More like easier to forget," he looked down at her on the floor. "But you got to come home sometime."

"When Philip and I were trapped in the car, we thought of that time like we were drifting at sea on our own little life raft. It was so perfect, Sonny. Even though it was scary and he was hurt, we were together and we just held onto each other and talked. I've never felt that close to anyone before. It might have been one of the best nights of my life. How sick is that? The best night with Philip was the night I almost killed him." She looked up at him sadly, tears filling her eyes.

"I don't think that's sick." He reached down and stroked her hair lightly. "You were forced to shut out the world and just be alone together. Helps you see what's important. Easier to let your real emotions show."

"There was so much I should've said." Melanie closed her eyes as the pain of that night hit her again. No matter how much time had passed it never got any easier.

"I want to show you something." She crawled over to where Sonny sat against the door, settling next to him. "So you know how I transferred here from Austin last fall?"

"You said you wanted to learn from the great Victor Kiriakis."

"Right and that's true. But I sort of came for another reason. See I had a baseball scholarship back in Texas. I was a pitcher."

"You never told me that."

"Trying not to dwell on it really. I hurt my shoulder end of sophomore year and it didn't heal right and couldn't pitch the same, so I lost my scholarship."

"Sonny, I'm so sorry." She leaned in closer to him, squeezing his arm.

"It was hard being at school, around my former teammates knowing I could never play again. Got depressing you know?" He kept his eyes focused on his phone's screen, the pain filling his voice.

"I can imagine."

"I was sort of drowning I guess. Didn't want to go to class, didn't want to hang out. Anyway, one night out of the blue I got a call. It was Philip. Him calling was a pretty rare occurrence. We usually only talked when I visited Salem or a random email here and there."

"What made him call?" asked Melanie.

"I think my dad might have told him about my situation with the team."

"So what did he say?"

"Actually nothing really." He laughed lightly. "We talked about sports, a bit about Titan, school, just catching up. But before he hung up he said something that got to me. He told me to stop focusing on the things I couldn't do, and focus on the things I could."

"Good advice."

"Made me stop moping. Here he was a former Marine, injured in the line of duty, and he wasn't letting it hold him back. I had one stupid torn labrum and I was acting like my life was over."

"So you packed it in and moved to Salem?"

"Something like that. Just really disappointed that I didn't make it here before the accident. I wanted to thank him." Sonny leaned his head back against the door and closed his eyes.

"I'm sure he knows," said Melanie reassuringly.

"I hope so." He leaned his head against hers. "Philip has always been my favorite cousin. Even though he was older than me, I still could relate to him. We both were the youngest in our families, both loved sports. The Kiriakis' are not big athletes. Really just Philip and I were the only ones. Did you know I spent almost every summer with my Uncle Victor growing up?"

"Really? I can't imagine that stuffy old house being much fun for a kid."

"It was fun for me. I remember one summer I was about ten and Philip would have been about seventeen, he had his cool car and his girlfriend."

"Chloe?"

Melanie tried to squash the negative feelings she was starting to have as she imagined perfect teen couple, Philip and Chloe. It was pointless to be jealous of his past, yet more and more she was starting to be.

"Yep. He was busy being Mr. Popular, but he still managed to find time to hang out with me. We used to shoot hoops a lot. He even took me out in his boat a few times."

She smiled at him. "Sounds like you have some good memories."

"I wanted to show you this." He pulled up a photo on his phone and turned the screen toward Melanie. It was an old picture of a little brown haired boy and Philip as a teen.

"Look at little Sonny, with all that hair." She grinned taking the phone out of his hand to get a closer look.

"I wouldn't let my mom cut it."

"I can tell. It is a curly mop. Philip is so young there. Now I see why Parker's hair is so blond." Melanie handed Sonny back his phone. She ran her fingers through the front of her hair before she began. "I found a photo in Chloe's room at the hospital, it was of Philip around this time. He was in a tux."

"Probably prom."

"Chloe had it just out in the middle of the bed. She must've been reminiscing."

"Mel, I thought we settled all of this before. They were high school sweethearts, you know that."

"I kept the picture. I got so angry that she would have it, like she was somehow violating our marriage." Sonny shot her a look. "Don't look at me like that. I know I'm being crazy. I just hate that she had the chance to know him for so many years and I may only get this. He could be gone Sonny." She buried her face in her hands, willing herself not to cry.

He rubbed her shoulders. "We found the will. It's all good now."

"Give me your lighter," said Melanie standing up abruptly.

"You know I quit smoking. All I have is my phone, a few tic tacs, and this bottle of Powerade."

"Just hand it over." Melanie extended her hand expectantly. "I know you have it on you."

"I just told you…"

"Sonny," she said cutting him off. "You never leave the house without two cigarettes and a lighter in your pocket, just in case you decide to start smoking again."

"You've got a memory like an elephant I swear." He dug the silver lighter out of the pocket of his jeans and handed it to her. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to destroy the will."

He looked up at her in surprise. "In here? I don't think setting a fire in an enclosed space is such a good idea."

"A little singe here and there to make it illegible," she said as she lit the end of the paper. A small flame began to darken the edges. "Look we've got an empty trashcan." Melanie grabbed the can and brought it closer to where Sonny still sat. She threw the burning paper down into it. "See there? Easy."

"Sort of smells like barbeque, which reminds me I'm hungry." Melanie shook her head and smiled. Everything made Sonny hungry.

"Let me put it out before your stomach starts growling." She grabbed his bottle of Powerade that was on the floor beside him.

"Mel wait!" Sonny yelled as Melanie poured the red liquid over the burning paper in the trashcan. Flames shot up out of the can, causing Melanie to jump back in alarm.

"Oh my god, I thought water put out fires. Isn't Powerade just colored water?" She tried to fan the flames down with her hands. Sonny rushed to her side and waved his hands over the can as well.

"It is, but mine was mixed with Everclear."

"Sonny!"

"I said 'Mel wait!' You just didn't."

"You should've said Mel, it's not Powerade. You know I don't listen when someone tells me to wait."

"Suffocation!" yelled Sonny.

"Huh?"

"We've got to snuff it out. Take off your coat, and throw it over the can, so no air can get in and the fire will go out."

"Good idea." She placed her black trench over the top of the can. They stood and watched, alarmed when thick puffs of smoke started escaping from the covered can. "Why is there so much smoke?" asked Melanie.

"It's just the fire dying."

"Are you sure? Because it's starting to get thick." A steady buzz permeated the room. It sounded like a really loud alarm clock.

"Oh no, the fire alarm," groaned Sonny anxiously rubbing his temples.

"Does it call directly to the fire department?"

"I think so, after a few minutes if it isn't disengaged."

"How do we shut it off?" asked Melanie frantically trying to fan the smoke away from the ceiling.

"On the panel out by the reception desk."

"Lovely. Any other ideas?"

"Now would be a great time to call Kate."

"Fine." Melanie pulled out her phone and began typing a message.

"Tell her to bring towels."

"Towels?"

"Yes because if we don't get the alarm off soon the sprinkler system will come on. We're going to get wet." Melanie's stomach dropped at that bit of information.

"Oh look. It stopped smoking." She removed her coat to reveal the charred remnants of the will in the trashcan.

"One less thing to worry about right?" He plopped down in the middle of the floor dejectedly.

Melanie sat down next to him. "Tell me why you had spiked Powerade in your pocket?"

"I was at the house with Chad."

"Again with the Gammas."

"They're not bad guys and they always have food. Today they had special punch. So I got some for later."

"Drinking and driving Sonny," she said in a scolding tone.

"I said it was for later. I had planned to put it in the fridge when I got home. Stephanie and I were thinking about using it to make jello shots."

"Right. What else would you do with a sorority sister as a roommate?"

"Stephanie has long graduated and is completely legal to partake in any shots of her choice in the comfort of her home. As am I. You on the other hand…"

"Why do you have to remind me I am younger than you every chance you get?"

"I need something to lord over you. Bad enough you graduated two years early, makes me look bad."

"I went to school in Europe," she stated.

"I went to school in Europe," he mimicked. "That doesn't give you the right to show me up. You know my mom actually asked why I couldn't be more like you and apply myself. She said Melanie graduated early and has a job and still has time for postgraduate work. Blah blah blah."

"Is she still on you about grad school?"

"Yes and having you around is not helping."

"Yikes. I know your mom can be relentless."

"She can be downright scary."

"I guess she had to be raising all of you boys."

"We never could get away with anything as kids. I remember I used to climb up on a chair in the kitchen to get to the cookies on the top shelf and my mom would yell out 'I see you, Jackson Steven' she always used my full when she was serious. I'd jump down thinking she was right behind me. Nope, nothing. She would be down the hall on the couch the whole time. Spooky."

"I still want to know how she managed to card me at the Cheating Heart when she wasn't even there."

"Well that one is easy. You never should've tried using your fake ID in there again after she let you slide that first time."

Melanie shrugged. "I figured different bartender, what would be the harm?"

"I'm sure my mom alerted every staff member about you. Probably had a most wanted poster behind the bar."

"As opposed to what she has now? My fake ID mounted behind the bar on the wall of shame. So embarrassing to see my face up there every time I come in."

"At least you've got me to hook you up."

"You are the best for buying drinks and passing them to me." She hugged him around his shoulders, squeezing him playfully.

"Because I am twenty-one," he teased sticking his tongue out at her.

She nudged him with her shoulder. "Shut up."

He nudged her back. "Soon to be twenty-two and when will you be turning twenty-one, Mrs. Kiriakis?"

"In November."

"All the way in November. That's such a long, long time."

"It is a long time. However will I make it through the start of grad school at the tender age of twenty this September? My classmates will mock me because I can't join them at the bar. I might have to continue to rely on my older, but still in undergrad friend, to sneak me drinks."

"Cute," he smirked. "Real cute."

"I thought so."

"So you're seriously going back to school?"

"Got accepted. My dad really wants me to go."

"What dad doesn't?" Sonny grabbed Melanie's arm. "Shh do you hear that? Someone's out there."

"Do you think it's the fire department?"

"I don't know," said Sonny rising to his feet. He ran to the door.

"We're in here!" He yelled banging loudly on the door.

Melanie jumped up when the door suddenly opened and a dark haired man appeared. She recognized the man immediately. He was Chloe's attorney.

Drew glanced them over, surprised to find them there. "Hi Sonny and Melanie right?"

"We sort of got locked in," explained Sonny with a small smile.

"Does your dad know you're here? When I came in the fire alarm was going off."

"Well about that…" Sonny hesitated, looking down at his feet, nervously.

"Sonny we might as well just tell him," said Melanie trying to cover for his uneasiness.

"We should?" asked Sonny clearly confused.

"We can't keep it from him. You're working with Justin now right?" Melanie asked turning her attention to Drew.

"Yes, part time." Drew replied.

"I guess we should just come clean," said Melanie hoping Sonny would catch on and follow her lead.

"Right…" he said drawing out his words. "So what had happened was…"

Melanie jumped in. "I lit a match. Well a lighter actually. I wanted to prove to Sonny that we couldn't use this room to hide the cake."

"The cake?" asked Drew crossing his arms.

"Yes a cake. It was going to be a surprise." Sonny explained.

"Sonny's parents are getting remarried again," added Melanie.

"And we wanted to get them a cake with candles you know throw a little party."

"Here? In the office?" Drew looked back and forth between them, clearly skeptical.

"Yeah because surprise!" Sonny said quickly with mock enthusiasm. "Who would ever think of a wedding party in a law office?"

"And Sonny had the idea to hide in here and then jump out with a cake. So we came in to test the idea. Good thing we did." Melanie laughed nervously. "Smoke alarm."

"Then we accidentally locked ourselves in here and woo hoo you saved us," he said grinning at Drew.

"Woo hoo!" chimed in Melanie.

"Good thing I stopped by tonight to find you and your friend," said Drew.

"She's my cousin actually."

"We're not really cousins."

"What?" Sonny turned to look at her, a hurt expression on his face. "That really hurts Mel."

"I mean were cousins by marriage, not blood."

"And that counts," said Sonny.

"Absolutely it does."

"I think of you as family." He leaned over and hugged her.

"Me too Sonny," said Melanie hugging him tighter, before stepping away.

"Are you two done here? I've got to get down to the police station," said Drew moving out of the doorway.

"To report us?" Sonny blurted out in alarm. Melanie looked over at him widening her eyes. He was about to blow it.

"No. For Chloe. She's been taken into custody. But you know all about that right Mrs. Kiriakis?" asked Drew looking at Melanie suspiciously.

"Sorry, I'm not on top of all Chloe's legal woes. Too busy taking care of the baby she abandoned." Sonny nudged Melanie with his hip, probably to get her to stop talking. But she ignored him. Chloe's lawyer was deliberately trying to call her out for some reason.

"It wouldn't hurt you to show some compassion. She's been through a lot. She's pretty much alone in this."

"Looks like she has a fan club to me," said Melanie almost under her breath.

"I'm sure your husband would expect you to be considerate of his good friend's feelings. Wasn't he president of her fan club at one point?" Drew asked with a smug smile playing on his lips.

"Excuse me? You didn't just go there. You don't know anything about my husband."

"Oh look at the time," interrupted Sonny.

"I know more about him than you think," retorted Drew.

"We better get going," said Sonny tugging on Melanie's sleeve to guide her toward the door. "Chloe's waiting right? And Melanie we have to go eat."

Melanie pulled away from Sonny stepping closer to Drew. "You have the audacity to tell me what my husband would want? He is in a coma."

"I know and I truly am sorry," said Drew.

"You don't think my husband would have a problem with his old friend after what she did to his son?"

"I think you may be projecting your own feelings of jealousy and hurt onto him. I'm pretty sure a good man like Philip would stand by someone that he's been close to since high school. No matter what." Melanie could feel her agitation rising with his every word.

"Who the hell do you think you are? My husband is protective of his family and he won't let anyone, not even Chloe put his child at risk. When he finds out what she did, he's going to cut her out of his life completely." Angry tears spilled over her cheeks.

"You're deluding yourself if you think he doesn't care about Chloe. You better prepare yourself to deal with that fact if he ever wakes up. You think siccing Victor on her is going to change that?"

"Okay, enough," said Sonny stepping between them. "Drew I thank you for helping us out. I appreciate it. And I hope I can trust you to keep our surprise hidden from my father."

"Not a problem," said Drew bowing his head.

"Good. One last thing," Sonny stepped closer to the man, straightening his posture and taking a more serious tone. "If you ever speak to my cousin's wife like that again I will personally see to it that my father kicks you out on your ass. Harassing an innocent woman is unacceptable."

"Just saying what she needed to hear."

"There's nothing she needs to hear from you. Go see about your client. I'll lock up here."

"Think about what I said, Mrs. Kiriakis."

"Good night, Mr. Donovan." Sonny turned to Melanie who was trembling beside him, tears streaming down her face. "Hey, no tears. You can't let him get to you."

"What if he's right Sonny?"

"Two minutes ago you were about to rip him a new one, now you are crying. What is up?"

"What if I made all the wrong choices and Philip wakes up and sides with Chloe? He could hate me, Sonny."

"Listen. What you told Drew was right. We Kiriakis' are protective of our families. Philip is going to do right by his son, even if that means dealing harshly with Chloe. He would understand that everything you are doing is to protect Parker."

She looked over at him, uncertainly. "You really think so?"

"I most definitely do." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and walked with her toward the door. "Pick up your bag and let's go. First we go grab some grub, then we go see Philip. Okay?"

"Okay. Thanks for everything Sonny."

"That's what cousins are for." Melanie laughed as she pushed her bag up on her shoulder. "I can't believe you said I wasn't really your cousin."

"I got nervous. I tend to ramble."

"Miss Professional got nervous. First you leave the lock picking kit on the wrong side of the door, then you almost burn the place down, almost lost it with Drew." Sonny turned off the lights and checked the alarm panel before joining Melanie by the front door.

"I was having an off night," said Melanie.

"Ya think?" Sonny grabbed her playfully around the neck as they went out the main doors of the office and onto the street. "You're so lucky I love you."

Melanie smiled as she let Sonny drag her down the street to his car.  
-

**_These are a collection of chapters featuring Sonny Kiriakis lifted from my Undertow series. It is an ongoing collection since my larger story is still ongoing_****_._****If you want to understand this story in its context, please read the full version of Undertow found here or on my website listed on my profile page.**


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